Chapter 37: The Stables of the Damned

March 1999

We left the rotunda, crossing over the rounded pit and exiting at the other end of the hallway. Tayla informed me as we exited that our next stop would be the stables, and the infirmary. I was wondering what an infirmary would be needed for and she then reminded me that it was for nursing the human cattle back to health for the next time their blood would be needed. They recycled their victims! I remembered we had talked about that before. This kept their need to replenish their stock of unwilling donors at a minimum, and thus allowed them to keep the lowest profile possible.

We went through the exit into a smaller passageway carved smooth, with a series of small steps in it. Tayla had kept the torch with her and it provided the only light as we descended the steps. Finally, the steps stopped, and the passageway continued, with only the torchlight to see our way. There was quite a distance between each place down here. No doubt, we had walked several miles, with many more to go. I wondered how we would get back to the surface in time to go to sleep before the sun came up. Tayla did not have to go to the surface. I certainly did not want to sleep down here. Although, I had a feeling that was exactly what was going to happen.

“You are probably right, my friend. We, I mean you, may not make it to the surface in time for you to see the sunrise. Therefore, I propose a solution to you. How much do you want to see tonight? There is a lot to see. In addition, you probably cannot see it in one night. You would have to retrace your steps that you have already taken tonight to see even further into my world down here.

How willing are you to do that?”

She asked me all this looking straight at me, as if there would be consequences to my answer. Well, of course there would be. Either way, I would never be able to see the entire underground estate in one night.

“I see the logic of your proposal, even though you haven’t offered it yet. I know that you sensed that it was on my mind, so therefore, if I am correct in my thinking, you are about to offer me a place to sleep down here come morning. Am I correct?” I knew I was. I was starting to read her like a book. In addition, where was I going to sleep? In a coffin? I did not think so!

“I could let you stay in the infirmary, which would be comfortable for you. There is a familiar there who would be able to look after you.” The flame of the torch in her hand flickered, and then I felt a rush of cold air on my cheeks. She looked at me with soft blue eyes, and continued, “You are tired, Malcolm. You should probably rest. I have taken you many miles. You think you have walked only a few, but believe me, it is a lot more than you think. I built this place with the intention that anyone who came here, would have to be here for more than a day. This, consequently, for them, meant they would also have to be here for a night. It levels the playing field, so to speak. It allows us the chance to not be destroyed while sleeping.”

Everything she said had a sense of logic to it or so it would seem. The defenses to this place seemed extraordinarily strong. I could not stand the thought of not being able to see it all. Nevertheless, I had not seen it all yet, and therefore the real amazement was yet to come. I knew I was about to enter places that no one outside the clan had ever ventured into before. I felt privileged yet simultaneously a great responsibility weighed upon me. There was no going back from this point. Tayla had discussed this with me, several times, that our relationship was to be about mutual trust and disclosure. With the disclosure of her secrets to this underground world, she saw me trusting her with my life here in this place of great danger.

I stayed close to her as we walked through the cavern’s passageways. Some of the passageways were manmade, carved smooth, with steps as mentioned before, and some were natural occurring corridors, that meandered into larger rooms. Tayla would watch me and look for a sign of a question of “How deep?” However, she would say nothing, even though she knew I wanted to ask the question. A large room showed an abyss with a path leading around it. The abyss was about thirty feet across. From a hole in the ceiling, about fifty feet above the rim of the abyss, a large waterfall fell into the hole below it, disappearing with a roar. The vertical river of icy water was about ten feet wide. The ambient lighting of carefully placed torches set off the beauty of the room. We stood there looking at the site of this natural wonder for a while, while I sipped on a cup of the coffee, she had brought me. It was cold, and the noise was loud, but for some reason, I knew I was safe with this vampire. Of course, I knew I had my angels with me also, but I had learned to trust Tayla. After all, she had not let me down yet, although there had been a few narrow escapes.

We left the room and continued our way. It was a long walk between the chamber of lust and the infirmary. I guessed we had walked about two miles between these two places. Tayla spoke up and confirmed my estimate of distance. Soon, I could hear music, soft, soothing music. It seemed to echo off the cold passage walls surrounding me. The passageway got wider to the point that again, I could not see the walls of the passageway. Then Tayla stopped, waved the torch in a big circle, and a stone door opened. How the engineers ever built that doorway is beyond me, but it worked. The stone door must have weighed more than a ton, as it was solid granite, polished on both sides like a grave marker. I could not see any writing on it, either side. As we traveled through, the light from electric generators began to shine throughout another large cavern. This cavern contained the stables. It was at least as large as the cavern of the crypts. I called it the Stables of the Damned.